PAGEPAGE2010年畢業(yè)論文AProbeintoculturalSimilaritiesandDifferencebetweenEnglishidiomsandChineseones中西方文化中習語差異的探究AProbeintoCulturalDifferencesbetweenEnglishIdiomsandChineseOnesAbstract:Idiomsareanimportantpartofthelanguageandcultureofasociety.Idiomsareoftenhardtobeunderstoodandevenhardertobeusedcorrectly.Theproperuseofidiomsinalanguageisoftenamarkofaperson’scommandofthelanguage.EnglishandChineseidiomscarvedwithculturalcharacteristicsaccountforagreatpartinapplication.Themainpurposeofthethesisistodiscusstheinfluenceoftheculturaldifferencesexistinginidiomapplicationandtheapproachestodealingwithculturaldifferencesinidiomapplication.Theidiomisnotonlyagemoflanguagebutalsothecrystallizationofhumanwisdom.Itislikeamirrorreflectingculture.Idiomapplicationisbothaninterlinguisticprocessandaninterculturalactivity.Therefore,itisnecessarytostudytheidiomtranslationfromtheperspectiveofculture.WhenrenderingidiomsauserfirstlyneedstocontemplatetheirculturaldiscrepanciesbetweenChineseandEnglish,andthen,usestranslationmethodsandstrategiesflexiblyinordertoprovideagoodversionandmakeeffectiveculturalexchange.Keywords:culture;idiom;culturaldifference;idiomapplication;interculturalcommunication摘要：習語是一個社會的語言和文化的重要組成部分，不僅難以理解，更難以運用得當。能否正確使用成語往往是一個人的語言水平的標志。帶有文化色彩的英漢成語在翻譯中占有很大的一部分。本論文旨在討論英漢成語運用中存在的文化差異現(xiàn)象，并就習語運用中的文化差異的處理方法提出自己的意見。習語是人類語言的精華、民族智慧的結晶，它的形成與其所屬的國家和民族文化緊密相聯(lián)。因此它蘊含著豐富的文化內(nèi)涵，像一面鏡子一樣很好的反映著文化。從這個意義上說，習語運用不僅是一種語際轉換過程，更是一種跨文化交際活動，因此探討習語運用策略，必須從文化角度著手才會行之有效。所以在習語運用過程中，譯者應該以對源語文化和目的語文化的充分了解為根本出發(fā)點，靈活恰當?shù)倪x擇翻譯方法和策略，方能使譯文獲得成功，實現(xiàn)有效的跨文化的交際。關鍵詞：文化；習語；文化差異；習語運用；跨文化交際ContentsⅠ.RelationshipbetweenLanguageandCulture……..1A.Definitionoflanguage……….1B.Conceptofculture…...………1C.Relationshipbetweenlanguageandculture……………...21.Languageasapartofculture…………..32.Interdependenceoflanguageandculture………………..4II.IdiomsandTheirCulturalFeatures………………..4A.Difficultiesinuseofidioms………………….41.Linguisticdifference……….52.Modesofthinking………….53.Lifeexperiences……………6B.Culturalvacancyinidioms………………….61.Definitionofidioms………..72.CulturalgapfactorsinEnglishandChineseidioms…………...……….8III.EffectsCausedbyCulturalDifferencesinIdiomsApplication…8A.Livingenvironmentdifferences…………….8B.Geographicaldifferences……………………9C.Socialcustomsdifferences……………...….9D.Religiousbeliefsdifferences……………….10Ⅳ.Conclusion…………..11WorksCited…………….12AProbeintoCulturalSimilaritiesandDifferencebetweenEnglishIdiomsandChineseOnes第13頁共12頁Ⅰ.RelationshipbetweenLanguageandCultureA.DefinitionoflanguageIt’swellknownthatthemostdistinguishingdistinctionbetweenhumansandanimalsisthatwehumanshavethecapacityofusinglanguage.Weuselanguageeverydayandweliveinaworldofwords.Languageiscenturialtoournatureashumanbeingsandlanguageisanintegralpartofourlife.Languageisthemostimportantdevelopmentinhumanhistory.Withoutlanguage,thearts,laws,sciencesandeconomicsystemscouldnotexist.However,ourabilitytocommunicatehasledusfromthecaveallthewaytothemoon.Languageissomuchapartofhumanexistencethatwewillbetalkingaslongasweinhabittheearth.Itisnotdifficulttofinddefinitionsonlanguageinlinguistic.Thefollowingsarethetwoofthem.Sapirwrotein1921:“Languageisapurelyhumanandnon-instinctivemethodofcommunicatingideas,emotions,anddesiresbymeansofasystemofvoluntarilyproducedsymbols”.In1957,Chomskygivesadifferentdefinitionlikethis:“FromnowonIwillconsideralanguagetobeset(finiteorinfinite)ofsentences,eachfiniteinlengthandconstructedoutofafinitesetofelements”.Despitethedifferencesinthesedefinitions,muchlinguisticsisinbroadagreementaboutsomeoftheimportantfeaturesofhumanlanguage,andmostofthemwouldaccepttheviewthatlanguageis,inessence,asystemofsymbolsdesignedforthepurposeofhumancommunication.Nevertheless,languageservesasabasisforcommunication.Languageisthesystemofhumanexpressionbymeansofwords.B.ConceptsofcultureMuchofthecomplexbehaviorofhumanscannotbeexplainedonthebasisofinnatetendencies,butonlyonthebasisofculture.Culturecanbemostsimplydefinedasasetofsharedideas,orthecustoms,beliefs,andknowledgethatcharacterizeawayoflife.Theconceptofculturewasdevelopedbyanthropologiststowardtheendof19thcentury.ThefirstreallyclearandcomprehensivedefinitionwasthatoftheBritishanthropologist,SirEdwardBurnettTaylor.Hedefinedcultureaseverythinghumanbeingsmadeandtaughttofuturegenerations.“Culture,”hewrote,“isthatcomplexconceptwhichincludesknowledge,belief,art,morals,law,custom,andanyothercapabilitiesandhabitsacquiredbymanasamemberofsociety”inPrimitiveCulturein1871.Toananthropologist,themoderndefinitionofculturerunsasfellows:Cultureisasetofrulesorstandardsthat,whenacteduponbythemembersofsociety,producebehaviorthatfallswithinarangeofvariancethemembersconsiderproperandacceptable.Let’sseethedictionarydefinitionofculture.IntheWebster’sThirdNewInternationalDictionary,thedefinitionofculturegoeslikethat:“Culturereferstothetotalpatternofhumanbehavioranditsproductembodiedinthought,speech,action,andartifactsanddependenceuponmen’scapacityforlearningandtransmittingknowledgetosucceedinggenerationthroughtheuseoftools,andsystemsofabstractthought.”Thetermofculturereferstothetotalpatternofabstractvalues,beliefs,customs,institutions,objects,andtechniquesthatcharacterizethelifeofahumancommunity.Cultureincludesallthesharedproductsofhumansociety.Thismeansnotonlymaterialthingssuchascities,organizationsandschools,butalsonon-materialthingssuchasideas,custom,familypatternsandlanguages.Asthetermitselfsuggests,materialcultureissubstantial,concreteandobservable.Andnon-materialcultureisaproductofthinkingactivityofhumanbeings.Itismainlyrepresentedbythevalues,convention,system,literature,science,philosophy,religiousbeliefs,modeofthinking,aestheticstandardsandmoralconcepts,etc.Incontrastwithmaterialculture,onlyasmallpartofnon-materialculture,theproductsofthemind,istangible,andmostnon-materialcultureishidden,abstract,implicitandindiscernible.Theseabstractareasofculture,whichareindeedverydifficulttodetect,notonlyposeproblemstoforeignlanguagelearners,butalsoconstitutetranslationproblemsininter-culturalcommunication.C.RelationshipbetweenlanguageandcultureOnlyhumanbeingshavethecapacityofcreatingandtransmittingculture.Humanbeingsarethe“culture-bearinganimals”becausetheyhavethecapacityforsymboliccommunication,orlanguage.AstheeminentanthropologistA.L.Kroeberputit:“Manisanessentiallyuniqueanimalinthathepossessesspeechfacultyandthefacultyofsymbolizing,abstracting,orgeneralizing.Throughthesetwoassociatedfacultiesheisabletocommunicatehisacquirelearning,hisknowledgeandaccomplishments,tohisfellowsandhisdescendants.Thisissomethingthatnootheranimalscando,atleastnottoanysignificantdegree.”Inwhatwayislanguagerelatedtoculture?Peoplewhoaremembersofsocietieshavetheirowndistinctiveculturesandwaysinusinglanguages.Let’stakethelegendarycreaturethe“dragon”betweentheeasternandwesternnationsforexample.TheChinesepeopleparticularlyfavordragon.InthedynastictimesinChina,thedragonstoodforthekingoremperor.ItissaidthatChinesearedescendentsofthedragon.InChina,thedragonisalwaysassociatedwithgloriousthings,regardedasanauspiciousgodandsupposedlybringsgoodluck,forithasmagicpower.SothedragonhasgivenrisetosomeChineseidiomssuchas“望子成龍”–longingtoseeone’schildrenbecomedragons,thatis,besuccessfulandhavebrightfutures,and“龍騰虎躍”–dragonsrisingandtigersleaping,havingafigurativemeaningofasceneofbustlingactivity.However,inthewesterncountries,especiallyinEurope,thedragonisoftenasimpleofevil.Ithaswingsandclaws,andspurtsoutflam.Somestoriesofheroesorsaintsdealwithstrugglesagainstthemonsters,whichinmostcasesarekilledintheend.ToWesterners,theword“dragon”oftenbearsaderogativemeaning,whichimpliesafierceperson,especiallyawoman.Fromtheabove-mentioneddiscussion,wecanseethattheassociatedandaffectivemeaningsofthe“dragon”betweentheChineseandEnglish-speakingpeoplearesharplycontrasted.Thisistheoneexamplewhichillustratesthatculturehasgreatlyshapedlanguageinawayandlanguagereflectsculturefromsomeaspects,too.Next,let’1.LanguageasapartofcultureWiththedefinitionof“culture”bothinEnglishandChinese,wecanseethatlanguageiscoveredbycultureandlanguageisapartofculture.Inthebroadestsense,languageisthesymbolicrepresentationofapeople,anditconsistsoftheirhistoricalandculturebackgroundsaswellastheirapproachtolifeandtheirwaysoflivingandthinking.Languageisamajorpartofcultureandplaysanimportantroleinit.Itisconsideredasthekeystoneofculturebysomesocialscientists.Theyholdthatculturewouldnotbepossiblewithoutlanguage.Languageisaculturalphenomenon.Languagecannotexistwithoutcultureasitscomponent.Languageisasystemforcommunication,insymbols,ofanykindofform.Languageisgreatlyinfluencedandshapedbycultureandlanguageinturnreflectsculture.Languageistheproductaswellasthecarrierofculture.Theculturaldifferencescanbereflectedinlanguages,too.Peoplecommunicatewhatismeaningfulornotmeaningfultotheminawaydefinedbytheirparticularculture.Asnation’scommonbeliefsandpractices,culturehasitsfixedmodel,whichcanbeseeninlanguage,thought,customarybeliefs,materialtraits,historicalbackground,religion,politicsandmanyotheraspects.Whenlanguageactsonculture,itisthecontainerandvehicleofculturalinformation.2.InterdependenceoflanguageandcultureLanguageandcultureinteract,andthatunderstandingofonerequiresunderstandingoftheother.Solanguageandculturehaveadialecticalrelationship.Languageisthekeytoacultureofwhichitisapartandtoalargeextentembeddedincultureorviceversa.Humanculturecouldnotexistwithoutameansofsymboliccommunication.Languagegiveshumanbeingsaccesstowhatwasthoughtandexperiencedinthepast,aswellasawayofpassingnewinformationtofuturegenerations.Whenthislanguagelinkisbroken,acultureislosttousforever.Languageisalsoessentialtohumanlifeandmakesnationalthoughtpossible.Itenablesustoreason,todrawlogicalconclusionsfromtheevidenceofoursense,togeneralizefromoneeventtoanother,andtopredict,create,andunderstand.Language,astheexpressionofculture,separatesusfromotheranimalsandmakesushuman.Sincelanguageisapartofculture,italsoshapesandcolorsourexperiencesoftheworldaroundus.II.IdiomsandTheirCulturalFeaturesInthispart,theoriginofculturalgap,theirembodimentsandtheinfluenceorthebarriertheybringtotheapplicationwillbediscussed.Asastart,itisusefultopresentabriefintroductiontothestudyoftheculturalgap.A.DifficultiesinuseofIdiomsCulturegapistheextremeformoftheheterogeneityofbothlanguageandcultureofanation.AccordingtoLiuBiqing,theheterogeneouscharacteristicsofculturesoriginatedprimarilyfromthedifferentoriginsofhumanculturesandtheirsubsequentdevelopments(includingtheriseofhistory,geo-configuration,theriseofculture,socialdevelopment,politicsandeconomy)(LiuBiqing,1999:43).Weallknowthatlanguageisculture-specific.What’smore,cultureisnationality-specific.Inotherwords,eachnationorethnicgroupshasitspeculiarculture.Firstly,culturalpeculiarityisthemainfactorleadingtoculturalvacancy,whichistheextremeexampleofculturedifference.Secondly,theemergenceofculturalvacancyisowingto“culturaldiversity”aswell.Culturaldiversityreflectsvariousculturalcharacteristicsandelementsallaroundtheworld.Suchasbeliefs,values,attitudes,norms,customsandmaterialaspects.Thisgivesrisetomostofthedifficultiesininterculturaltranslation,andoftenresultsinlimitationsoftranslationorculturallossofmeanings.TomakeagoodtranslationofChineseandEnglishculturally-loadedlexemes,theusershouldbeawareofwhatkindsofproblemshinderingthetranslationprogress.Nowwewilltakeacloselookattheproblemshinderingculturally-loadedlexemestranslationfromtheangleoflinguisticdifference,modesofthinkingandlifeexperience.1.LinguisticdifferencesEnglishbelongstoIndo-EuropeanlanguagefamilywhileChinesebelongstoSino-Tibetanlanguagefamily.Theformerisalphabetic,whilethelatter,pictographic.Theirlinguisticdifferencesareinsuchfeaturesassound,wordformationsandsyntax,etc.Linguisticdifferencesareoftenfoundinformalstylesofwritingorpoems.Forexample,itisalmostimpossibletorendertheChinese“對聯(lián)”(antitheticalcouplet)intoEnglishatthesametimekeepingthestructure,meaningandallotherwritingtechniquesrequired.Similarly,itisdifficulttoputtheEnglishsonnetintoChineseequallyinstructureandsyllables.Sinceasemioticsystemisintegratedintothecultureofthatlanguageinwhichitoperates,wemaysaythatlinguisticgapis,tosomeextent,tantamounttoculturalgap.ManyChinesewordsareveryvividwithimages,shapesandqualitiesclearlypresentedwhereasmostoftheirEnglishapplicationsonlyconveythemeaningandfunctionofthelanguagewithoutpreservingtheimages.Fromabovementionedheknownthatlinguisticmeaningreferstothemeaningthatiscarriedbytheinnerresourcesoflanguageitself.2.ModesofthinkingModesofthinkingrefertomindsetsorsetpatternsformulatedinthementalprocessofreceiving,reflecting,consideringandprocessingoutsideinformationbyacertaingroupofpeople,usually,withinaparticularsociety.“Oncecomeintobeing,themodesofthinkingbecomespiritualcharacteristicssharedbypeopleinsidethesocietyandwillpassfromgenerationtogenerationasthemoststableorthescorefactorofthepeople’sculturaltradition(WangPing,1994:67)”.Althoughinmoderntimes,traditionalmodesofthinkingareoftenundergoingchangesduetoinfluenceofforeigncultures,itistruethattheyremainthemostinnateordeeplyrootedcomponentofaculture.English-speakingpeopleusuallydisplayalogicalandanalyticalthinkingpattern.Chineseismorecompatible,self-denial,group-oriented.Theyputmuchemphasisonfamilyandexpressthemselvesinamorereservedandimplicitway.English,bycontrast,ismoreself-assertive,straightforwardandexplicit.Theybelieveinindividualdiversities.Theirfamiliestendtobelooselybound.Influencedbythedifferentpsychology,Chinesewhostressconcreteperceptionareinclinedtobefondofparticulars.Eveninmoderntimes,Chinesepeoplegetacquaintedwiththeworldoftenthroughcontactwitheachparticularobjectintheirdailylife.SuchanintertwiningofabstractthinkingandparticularimagesproducesanartisticflavorpeculiartoChinese.Accordingly,Chineselanguagefeaturesarefondnessforimages,abundanceofexpressionsinconcreteforms,highregardforprecedent,andabundanceofliteraryandhistoricalallusions.Atthesametime,Chinesepeopleareusedtoseekingasenseofsymmetryandbalanceintheirdiction,soexpressionsoffourChinesecharactersinparallelstructurearefrequentlyemployedastheyarevivid,forceful,andeloquentwithasenseofbalance.ComparedwithChinesepeople’sfondnessofconcreteimages,theEnglish-speakingpeople,influencedbytheirhighlydevelopedabstractthinking,areapttouseofabstractexpressions.Therefore,itisnaturalthatuseroftenhavedifficultiesinretainingtheconcreteimagesusedinChineseastheseimagesareculture-specific,thatonlyappealingtothefeelingsoftheChinese,nottotheAnglo-Americanpeople.3.LifeexperiencesPeoplewhospeakdifferentlanguagessharethesameorsimilaropinionofsomethingsduetothesameorsimilarexperiencesononehand.Ontheotherhand,becauseoftheinfluenceofdifferentculturesandcustoms,eachnationhasitsownwayofexpressingthesameconnotation.Fromtheseperspectives,“peopleofanylanguage-culturehavesufficientimaginationandexperiencetounderstandhowthepeopleofanotherlanguage-culturemayrightlydifferintheirbehaviorandvalues.”(Nida1993:106)Forexample,donkeyinalion’shide:“狐假虎威”;todrinklikeafish:“牛飲”;totalkhorse:“吹牛”;tositonthefence:“腳踏兩只船”;greatboasters,littledoers:“說話的巨人,行動的矮子”;greatmindsthinkalike:“英雄所見略同”.Itmustbepointedoutthatnotwolanguagesareidenticalintheirvocabulary,becausedifferentpeoplehavedifferentlifeexperiences.Evenspeakingthesamelanguage,notwopeoplehavethesamelifeexperiences.Nidasaid:“peoplealwayshavedifferentlifeexperiencesanddifferentrecognitionoftheobjectiveworld,thereforetheyalwaysunderstandwordsindifferentwaysofmodes”.Betweentwocultures,thereexistsculturalgapaswellasculturaloverlap.Inapplicationprocesses,themostdifficultproblemexistsinculturally-loadedwordsandexpressions,especiallyinidioms.JinDiandEugeneNidasaid:“Differencesofcultureinmanyaspectsshouldbeevenmoreofaproblemfortranslatorsthandifferencesoflanguage.”Indeed,somewordsandexpressionsprofoundlyimbuedwithuniqueculturalelementsdocausetranslationproblems.C.CulturalvacancyinidiomsLanguageisthemaincarrierofculture,whereasidiomscanbecalledthecreamoflanguage.Englishidiomsformanessentialpartofthegeneralvocabulary.EnglishidiomsconstitutedthemostcolorfulandfascinatingaspectofEnglish.Idiomsreflecttheenvironment,life,historicalculture,etc.Ofthenativespeakersarecloselyassociatedwiththeirinnermostspiritandfeelings.Theyarecommonlyusedinalltypesoflanguage,informalandformal,spokenandwritten,thatiswhytheextenttowhichapersonfamiliarizeshimselfwithidiomsisamarkofhisorhercommandoflanguage.Yourlanguagecompetencewillbeincreasedrapidlyifyoucanunderstandplentyofidiomsandemploythemconfidentlyandcorrectly.Speechorwritingwithoutidiomslackscolorandlocalflavor,butoveruseorimproperuseofidiomsmakeslanguagesoundunnatural.JustasMichaelK.Liu(1994:preface)says:“unlessonehascometotermswithidioms,heorshewillnothaveagoodgraspofthelanguage.”Whenidiomsreflectculturalcharacteroflanguage,theyaremoretypicalthantheotherlanguagecomponents.1.DefinitionsofidiomsJustasitishardtodefine“culture”,itisnoteasyatalltogiveaclear-cutdefinitiontotheword“idioms”,foritcanbedefinedvariouswayswhichmaygetuscompletelyataloss.AccordingtoCollinsDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage,idiomsare“agroupofwordswhosemeaningscannotbepredicatedfromthemeaningsoftheconstituentwords”.(Hanks,1979:728).Thedefinitionstatesthatidiomsaredifferentfromotherlinguisticitemsinthatthemeaningofanidiomcannotbepredictedfromitsform,whereasthemeaningofanordinarylinguisticitemcanbemoreorlesspredictablefromtheirindividuals.Inaddition,accordingtothelatestWebster’sNewWorldCollegeDictionary,3rdEdition,“idiomisaphrase,constructionorexpressionthatisrecognizedasauniteintheusageofagivenlanguageandeitherdiffersfromusualsyntacticpatternsorhasameaningthatdiffersfromtheliteralmeaningofitspartstakentogether”.Thesedefinitionsshowthatidiomsareanumberofwordswhich,puttogether,meanthataredifferentfromtheindividualwordsoftheidiomswhentheyarealone.Theyaresyntacticallystableandsemanticallyunited,especiallyingrammaticalstructuresandcollocations.Soidiomsharessomethingwiththeworkingdefinitionfor“culturalterms”inthattheybothhavethemeaningswhichcannotbeinferredmerelyfromtheirlinguisticcomponents,thefactthattheirdefinitionsoverlapsinonewayortheotheragaindemonstratesthatidiomsaretypicalculturaltermsrichinculturalconnotations.Inshort,“idiomsarelittlesparksoflifeandenergyinourspeech,theyarelikethosesubstancecalledvitaminswhichmakeourfoodnourishingandwholesome”(Smith276).2.CulturalgapfactorsinEnglishandChineseidiomsDifferentlanguagesreflectdifferentculturesanddifferentculturesentaildifferentlanguageexpressions.Idioms,theessenceoflanguage,carryrichculturalelementsandtheyareevencalledasthelivefossilofculture.Idiomsaredifficulttotranslateinthattheyareoftenofparticularculturalorigins.BothChineseandEnglishhaveplentyofidioms.Someofthemhavethesamemeaningorarequitesimilarwitheachother.Butinothercases,theyarequitedifferentfromeachotherjustbecausetheyareproductsofdifferentcultures.BymakingacomparisonbetweenChineseandEnglishidioms,wefindsomesimilaritiesbetweenthem,butwecanalsofindmanydifferencesinvariousculturalaspectsbetweenChineseandEnglishidioms.Inthispart,acomparativestudyofculturaldifferencescarriedrespectivelybyChineseandEnglishidiomsistobemadeinaspectssuchaslivingconditions,socialcustoms,religiousbeliefs,historicalandliteraryallusionsandmodesofthinkingandsoon.III.EffectsCausedbyCulturalDifferencesonIdiomsApplicationA.LivingenvironmentdifferencesIneverynation,someidiomsarerelatedtothelivingenvironmentofitspeople.Forexample,Britainisanislandcountry,whichhasalonghistoryofnavigation,andthereforeagreatnumberofEnglishidiomsarederivedfromlifeonthesea.Chinaisalargecountrychieflybasedonagricultureandthegreatmajorityofthepeoplelivinginruralareas,sothefarmers’proverbialsayingsformalargepartofChineseidioms.Theseidiomsarethecrystallizationoftherichexperienceinagricultureproduction,accumulatedintheirproductivebytheChinesepeasants’TheBritishpeople’slovefortheseacanbefoundinthefollowingidioms:“whenone’sshipcomeshome”means“whenonehasbecomesuccessful”(當某人發(fā)財時),“tokeepone’sheadabovewatermeans”means“stayoutofdebt,difficulty,etc.”(未舉債、未陷入困境等).JustastheBritishpeoplecannotlivewithoutsea,sotheChinesepeoplecannotlivewiththeearth,thereforeinChinesewehave“面朝黃土背朝天”todescribetheChinesefarmer’stoilinthefield.InChinese,wesay“進退維谷”todescribethatapersonisinadilemma,whileinEnglishit’s“betweenthedevilandthedeepsea.”Ifwewanttoexpressapersonwhospendsmoneywastefully,wesay“揮金如土”whileinEnglishitis“spendmoneylikewater.”Thedifferentlivingenvironmentsofthetwopeoplesareresponsibleforthedifferentculturalvaluesembodiedintheidiomsofthetwolanguages.Inordertodogoodtranslation,thetranslatorshouldhaveaneyeontheuseofthewordsintheidioms.B.GeographicaldifferencesThedifferentgeographicalconditionsineachcountryhavealsoplayedanimportantroleindeterminingnationalcharacteristicsofidioms.Herearesomeexamples:CarrycoalstoNewcastle多此一舉SettheThamesonfire做出驚人的事來ShootNiagara孤注一擲TakeFrenchleave不辭而別TalklikeaDutchuncle諄諄教誨Anation’sgeographicalconditionisaframeworkinwhichalanguageandculturedevelop.Thegeographicalfeaturesofanationareinevitablyreflectedinthenationallanguageingeneralandidiomsinparticular.Forexample,theChineseidiom“不到黃河心不死”(nottostopuntilonereachestheYellowRiverrefusetogiveupuntilallhopeisgone)isapparentlyrelatedtotheYellowRiver,thesecondlongestriverinChinaandthecradleofChinesecivilization;theidiom“不到長城非好漢”(whodoesnotreachtheGreatWallisnotatruehero)isclearlyrelatedtotheGreatWall,oneofthewellknownscenicspotsinChina;anotheridiom“泰山壓頂不彎腰”(donotbendone’sheadevenifMountTaitopplesonone-nottogiveinanypressureordifficulty)isrelatedtoMountTai,alargemountaininChinaandasymbolofgreatweightorimportance.C.SocialcustomsdifferencesSocialcustomshavemuchtodowithnationalcharacteristicsofidioms.Chinese-speakingpeopleandEnglish-speakingpeoplehavedifferentsocialcustoms.FromChineseandEnglishidioms,wecanseepeople’sdifferentattitudestowardscertainanimals,suchastheowlandthedog.“Aswiseasanowl”indicatesthatEnglish-speakingassociatewisdomwiththisbird.Inchildren’sbooksandcartoons,theowlisusuallysolemnandwise.Indisputeamongbirdsandbeasts,itistheowlthatactsasjudge.Insomecases,itistheowlthattheygotoforadvice.Sometimesthebirdisconsideredasimpracticalandfoolish,butinthemain,theowlstandsforwisdom.AmongmanyChinese,however,thereisasuperstitiousbeliefthatthisbirdisasignofbadluck.Thereisasaying“夜貓子進宅”(anowlvisitingahome),portendingmisfortuneinthathousehold.Themeresightofanowlorthesoundofthecreature’shootingisenoughtocauseChinesepeopletodrawbackinfear.IntheWest,dogsarecompanionsoftheirmasters.Theyhuntwiththeirmastersandtheywatchhomeforthem.InEnglish,thereareidiomsaboutdogs,suchas“aluckydog”(幸運兒),“everydoghashisday”(凡人皆有得意時)and“l(fā)oveme,lovemydog.”(愛屋及烏)Theabove-mentionedidiomsaboutdogshavegoodmeanings.ButinChina,dogisanimagetobecondemned.InChinese,wesay“狗仗人勢”(likeadogthreateningpeopleonthestrengthofitsmaster’spowertobeabullyundertheprotectionofapowerfulperson),“狗尾續(xù)貂”(to